02 Explorer 4x4 - Survival Supplies

[Oldwolf]

Kind of an off the wall question, but what the heck. Maybe some of you guys have already given this some thought.

In addition to supplies for an oil change, spare coolant and tools, what do you think I need to have on hand to keep my Explorer running in a survival situation for a trip from the east coast to the mid west?

 

[Old As Dirt]

Duct tape!

 

[zombie_vamp]

Duct tape!

lol, funny but true!

 

[CodePoet]

MRE's, water purifier, duck tape, rope, tow strap, thermal blanket, signal flares, cell phone, first aid kit, gun.

 

[Blee1099]

Take a look at what Rick carries on his rig, http://www.explorer4x4.com/specs.htm

You can of course omit some stuff there but carry the basics and some of the stuff that you may need if you get stranded in the cold

 

[Ritsui]

What you need depends greatly on what the survival scenario is. There's a big difference between "no AAA" and "Red Army ground assault" and in most cases your bodily survival will be more gravely threatened (and yet more easily protected) than your car.

For the car, I always have standard parts (belt, filter, wires), repair tools (full socket set, wrenches, breaker bar, etc.), recovery equipment (straps, hand winch, cables), fluids (oil, trans, coolant, gas) and a jack. Basically, it's the minimum list for a 4x4 run. If I knew the conditions would be bad from the start, I would also carry things like a second spare, welder, etc. depending on available space.


For the occupants, I carry a 3 day survival pack including a backpack, knife, flint, blanket, spare clothes, small first aid kit, water and pack of protein bars. For more serious scenarios, check places like www.beprepared.com and duplicate their 3 day survival packs for each person in the vehicle.


A whole lot of things that'll stop you can be temporarily repaired with duct tape/wire/JB weld, but there's no substitute for spare parts. Of course, for extended survival, you're often better off packing the tools required to make/find/provision the things you need rather than the things themselves.